THE POTTER S ART. 



bore the name of Raphael. Hence the productions were said to be 

 those of Raphael ; and, at a later period, those who were unac- 

 quainted with these circumstances concluded that they were the 

 immediate work of the celebrated painter. 



11. It was at this time that the celebrity of such productions, and 

 the universal admiration which they excited, produced the custom, 

 continued to the present time, of offering them as royal presents 

 by sovereign to sovereign. The Duke Guidobaldo caused to be 

 executed at Pesaro magnificent services, which he presented to 

 sovereigns and other eminent personages. The splendid service is 

 especially mentioned which he presented to the Emperor Charles V., 

 made by Taddeo Zucarro and Battista Franca, under the direction 

 of the brothers Flaminio and Orazzio Fontana. 



Nothing was omitted which could enhance the interest and 

 increase the excellence of those productions of artistic industry. 

 To genius, talent, skill, and care, were united the researches of 

 erudition, and the counsels of taste, to impart to them the greatest 

 attainable perfection. 



12. This high excellence was sustained so long as the art was 

 protected and fostered by royal patronage. The time was not yet 

 arrived when the patronage of the public was more advantageous 

 than that of the sovereign ; and after the decease of Guidobaldo 

 and Orazzio Fontana, the art being left to the unaided influence 

 of the public demand, it became necessary to meet that demand 

 by low-priced and, therefore, inferior articles. The taste accord- 

 ingly declined with the excellence which excited it, and the 

 Italian majolica gradually but speedily lost its reputation. 



About 1772, Cardinal Stoppani attempted to revive it at TJrbino, 

 and some temporary effect was produced about 1775, but it was 

 only temporary. It is probable that the importation of Chinese 

 porcelain into Europe, which was simultaneous with the deca- 

 dence of majolica, may have had some influence in producing that 

 result. 



13. The epoch of della Robbia in Italy was followed by that of 

 Bernard Palissy in France. This eminent potter was born at 

 La Chapelle-Biron, a small village of the Perigord, about 1510, 

 and died in 1589. 



Although he was the author of many published works, and one 

 upon the art which he practised with so much success, he has left 

 no available information respecting his processes. His desire 

 seems to have been exclusively to leave to the world a record of 

 the unparalleled difficulties he encountered, the sacrifices he 

 made, the sufferings he endured, and the obstinate perseverance, 

 amounting, it must be admitted, to a sort of heroism, which he 

 displayed in the attainment of his objects. In his experiments, 

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